CSS: Only saw about 15 minutes, but it was fun. Not inspired to get her albums, but still.

Wunmi: Often the best time at a festival is had attending the acts you never planned to see. She was on at Lilyworld, which was essentially the hippy / stoner part of the festival. Considering how intense the rest of the festival is, having a place that’s just… chilled is excellent. Her voice was great, her songs were very good, (and I never like that kind of music) and it was just… fun! The stage was only about a foot high, so she came and danced with everyone. I bought her album from her, though I’m worried that I’ll go back and listen to it and hate it. Meh.

(Turns out she worked with Soul II Soul. Random.)

Lupe Fiasco: I wasn’t there, but a friend said he spat the dummy, broke the decks, then walked off after about 5 minutes. Wish I’d been there.

Die Antwoord: I’m pretty sure this band is a joke. Not in the fact that they’re stupid, but in that they’re a complete parody of themselves and what they represent. This was also one of my favourite gigs of the day: gotta love a band that completely degrades the mothers of everyone in the audience, then gets them to cheer about it. And, hey, the music is enjoyable. I wonder how many people got it…

Crystal Castles: are the entire reason I came to BDO in the first place. Unfortunately… it wasn’t the greatest. It had to be the most packed gig of the day: we moved inside the tent and then just got pushed around everywhere. ANGER. Because, you know what? Unlike you, I’m not here to get high and dance around because it’s a beat. I’m here because I love this music, love it quite a lot, so fuck off and let me enjoy it. Some guy was pushing into me so I pushed him away and told him to fuck off, to which he responded “DUDE IT’S A RAVE.” And I care because..? I’m still going to kick you in the face if you push me again. Perhaps because of the huge number of people, or maybe just because of where we were, the sound was awful, and after starting a bit late, they played maybe 5 or 6 songs then went off 15 or 20 minutes early. Alice was on crutches (so at least they turned up at all, considering everyone thought they’d cancel), but the event organisers probably told them to shut it down. If there were any gig at which you’d die, that was it. So I’m glad I saw them, but they really need to do a proper solo tour.

Back to Lilyworld: It seems a lot of people cancelled at Lilyworld (perhaps because they were too stoned to turn up, or realise they were meant to) so I think we heard part of Balloonatic (which was a bit… odd) then Matt and Kim came on. Lol. It was… well, fun. I know I use that word a lot, but that’s pretty much how the day was. Matt is camp as a row of tens, and Kim looked like she couldn’t believe people were there to see them (I swear her face nearly broke from smiling). Apparently they’re a couple, but I’d put $50 on Matt having someone rather penis-y on the side, in the very least. Crazy shite. I don’t know that it would work on CD, but it was good live. I’ll look them up later and see what they’re like on recordings.

Bloody Beetroots/DC77: The only reason I wanted to go to Creamfields, so I was glad I finally saw them. And they played “Warp” towards the start of their set: dancing to that being done live is probably one of the highlights of this year. AND IT’S ONLY JANUARY. Alas, we left early. I think my ears are dead enough.

Iggy Pop and The Stooges: THEY’RE ALL SO ANCIENT. Drugs have not been kind to Iggy: his voice was alright (better on slow, deep songs), but I think he still thinks it’s the 70: he invited people on stage to dance with him (something I don’t think the event was very happy about that, though I guess they should expect something like that). And his on-stage gyrations… Well, he’s getting on a bit. About half-way through, he just went off, then came on about 5 minutes later. The crowd was also quite shit: they cheered a bit, but I think he was expecting bedlam, and was certainly disappointed. It was certainly an experience, but not one I ever really need to do again.

LCD Soundsystem: By this time, I was a little bit sick of loud noises. Seriously, we can all hear it clearly enough, does it need to be that loud? That said, LCD Soundsystem was brilliant. A great set, danceable, fun, and just… wow. James Murphy has the most incredible voice: gorgeous tone, great range, and fantastic pitch.

Booka Shade: I’ve never listened to a Booka Shade album, but I love them quite a lot.

M.I.A.: What. I think everyone was expecting a very standard “And here’s “Galang”, and here’s “Born Free” and here’s “Paper Planes”. But no. M.I.A. IS NOT HAPPY WITH STANDARD. Instead it was… I don’t even know. The first 40 minutes was essentially just the same 5 epic house-y samples with her shouting things of the top of them. Then she played a couple of songs normally, then a bit more of the former, then finally a few more normal songs and, eventually, Paper Planes. Obviously she had to end with that but… yes. Weird. At the start people were chanting for her (which I didn’t see for any of the acts), but it wasn’t anywhere near as packed as Crystal Castles (despite it being the final act of the day and thus the only act on at that time), but as she went on, people just kept on leaving. I didn’t hate it but it was… yes. Interesting. Perhaps a bit of a let down.

Ultimately, the most fun I’ve had in ages. I think I’ll wear earplugs next time, as my ears were getting very tired by the end and it was excessively loud for some things (gosh I sound like a grandpa). M.I.A. was a bit of a downer to end the day on, considering how generally great everything else was.

Otherwise: HURRAH! FESTIVALS!

(Source: acceptablepopmusic)